The influence of anesthesiologist postoperative visit on patient satisfaction with anesthesia for reconstruction of the anterior cruciate knee ligament

Background / Aim. Patient satisfaction, when it comes to anesthesia, is more difficult to assess than in any other medical specialty. The aim of this study was to construct a tool for assessing patients' satisfaction with anesthesia, and then examine the effects of post-operative care provided by anesthesiologists on patients’ satisfaction. Methods: The study included patients undergoing general anesthesia, who were considered ASA 1 and ASA 2 class. Patients were divided into three groups: Group 1 included 74 patients who had postoperative visit performed by an attending anesthesiologist; Group 2 included 70 patients who had postoperative visit performed by a nurse anesthetist after surgery; and Group 3 included 74 patients who did not have postoperative visit during post-operative care by an anesthesiologist nor a nurse anesthetist. The tools used in the research were Anesthesia patient satisfaction questionnaire specially designed for this study and Post Anesthetic Recovery Scoring System (PAS). ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used for estimating the statistical significance of the obtained results between the groups. Results: Association between an objective assessment of the post-operative status of patients on day zero and satisfaction with the anesthesiologist's patient management shows statistical significance (p<0.05). Patients who had a post-operative visit by an anesthesiologists tolerated better preoperative and postoperative physical symptoms. Patients visited by an anesthesiologist were most satisfied with post-operative care (p<0.05). Conclusion: Use of a highly reliable questionnaire for evaluation of patient´s satisfaction with anesthesia could improve the post-operative condition of patients and enable faster recovery during post-operative period.